Project Summary The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services? (DHSS) has had a continuous and ongoing manufactured food program for somewhere between 40 and 73 years. Currently, DHSS is responsible for the regulation of approximately 1,400 food manufacturing firms across the state. The program coordinates its efforts among multiple state and local food protection programs, but perhaps none more so than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In accordance with the Food Safety Modernization Act, the FDA is responsible for advancing efforts for a nationally integrated food safety system that leverages partners at all levels. To that end, FDA promotes the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards as a set of best practices for state programs like DHSS? manufactured food regulatory program. These standards provide quality assurance for FDA and other agencies in accepting states? regulatory work while the states use them to validate and improve program structure. DHSS? project proposal seeks funding in order to achieve and maintain conformance to the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards. The goals and outcomes of this proposal include the following: 1. Achieve and maintain conformance with the manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS). 2. Leverage the MFRPS as the continuous improvement system for the DHSS manufactured food program. 3. Provide manpower necessary to prioritize and inspect firms at frequencies that are based on food safety risks. 4. Engage as a contributor to national initiatives to support continuous improvement of the MFRPS. DHSS? manufactured food regulatory program is currently in full conformance with five of the ten program standards. The program is in partial conformance with the others and projects full conformance to all ten standards within the project award period.